Islam Saeed Books

Friday, August 18, 2023 at 01:30 PM

Gold Price Today:

A 24 carat record is 2600 pounds.

21 carat registers 2275 lbs.

18 carat logs 1950 lbs.

A pound of gold is 18,200 pounds.

Gold prices rose slightly on Friday, trying to recover from five-month lows, as the dollar saw gains, while worries about rising US interest rates kept metals markets under pressure.

Today, gold prices rose 0.2% to trade at $1891 an ounce, after falling yesterday to a 5-month low of $1885.

Gold is on track for a fourth straight week of declines as the week trades down 1.1%, with gold trading settled below $1900 an ounce for most of the week, adding to the downside. Pressure on the precious metal, according to a research report.

The main reason behind the continued negative pressure on gold and the failure to achieve a real recovery is US government bond yields hitting record highs, which boosts the perception that interest rates will remain at record highs, supported by economic data. In the longer term, the Fed’s meeting minutes released this week show the bank’s members’ willingness to continue monetary tightening in light of continued upward pressure on inflation, especially as core inflation remains subdued. A far cry from the bank’s target of 2%.

Markets are bracing for a fresh decision to raise interest rates by 25 basis points during the US Federal Reserve’s three remaining meetings this year, although market prospects are increasingly pointing to the bank not witnessing a meeting next September. A decision to raise interest rates.

However, long-term interest rates are likely to remain at record highs until at least the middle of next year, which is troubling gold markets as high interest rates are seen as an unattractive environment for investments in gold.

The yield on 10-year government bonds hit 4.328% yesterday, the highest since last October, and the yield on 30-year bonds hit a 12-year high, raising opportunity costs in the gold market. The gold market pays its holders a return comparable to that of a bond.

Notably, the 10-year bond yield fell 1.1% at the start of today’s session, which helped gold prices recover today, although downside pressure remains.

As for the dollar index, it saw stability in today’s trade near its two-month highs recorded yesterday, but it also saw some volatility, which helped gold find a chance to rally slightly higher today, the report said.

Yesterday, the dollar index fell in a negative correction, but before the end of the session it pared most of its losses and saw a recovery to close at 103.30, an important support level in the current price areas.